The Incredibles

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We donned tights to bring you this review. New movies included.

By Juan Castro

The Incredibles, the latest Pixar flick to make the jump from theater screen to TV screen, has the makings of a solid action game. It features a nuclear family brimming with fantastic super powers, all sorts of maniacal contraptions and Pixar's unique brand of stylistic humor.

Not only does each member of the Incredibles household boast their own powers, but each also comes pre-packaged with great personality from the movie. Taking all these elements into account, the success of The Incredibles game adaptation depends on a few key areas.

Did the personality of the movie survive the development process? Have the developers (in this case Heavy Iron Studios) made the best of the character's exclusive super powers? Does the titular band of heroes control well? And most importantly, do all the different elements coalesce into one satisfying game experience?

To start, the The Incredibles sticks to the plot of its theatrical counterpart. In fact, part of the reason why the game's publisher, THQ, was a little shy about sending advanced copies to video game publications was to keep the plot a mystery.

Even better, the game mirrors the look and feel of the movie, with faithful recreations of characters, and environments. It even does a good job of exploiting the different super powers, with each of the characters acting as the stars of their very own stages.

Mr. Incredible features super strength, letting him lift insanely heavy objects. He can also bash through walls and pick up furniture to throw at enemies. If there's nothing to pick up, he can pick up enemies to throw at other enemies as well. Mrs. Incredible, has far more reaching abilities. As though made of taffy, she can stretch her limbs to grab enemies and to swing across chasms. Mrs. Incredible also performs a spinning attack capable of taking down several enemies at once.

The offspring of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible boast their own powers as well. Violet, the emaciated daughter of the family, conjures an invisible force field to protect her from harm. What's more, she can turn invisible and sneak past vigilant enemies. And Dash, the youngest of the Incredible clan, can run so fast his feet catch on fire.

Each character stars in their very own stages, with challenges and enemies in each catering to specific powers. Mr. Incredible performs plenty of heavy lifting and bashing of enemies, for example, while Dash spends all of this time throttling through busy streets or enemy infested jungles. Beanpole Violet uses her powers of invisibility to sneak past guards, since any kind of physical exertion could possibly shatter her delicate limbs into a thousand pieces. Later in the game, Violet and Dash join forces to create the Incredi-Ball, a fast moving sphere of energy.